11/23/07 Flies to Fish

The innovative ideas people come up that benefit animal agriculture never cease to amaze me. I'm Jeff Keane; I'll be back in one minute to tell you about one of those ideas. If cattle produce manure, flies like manure, and fish like flies then that should equate into a formula that could help two industries. That was the thought process used by Idaho State University aquatic species veterinarian Sophie St. Hilaire to start a project that uses dairy manure to raise flies to feed fish. An article in the Western Farmer-Stockman magazine explains how St. Hilaire incorporated the help of waste management specialist Ron Sheffield and fish nutritionist Wendy Sealey to get from manure to a possible substitute for expensive fishmeal. The process raises black soldier flies on manure piles that are reduced by half by the immature fly larvae. These flies are then used as food for rainbow trout. The manure piles were actually enhanced with fish wastes that, of course, contain fish oil. The larvae in turn accumulate concentrations of heart-healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, which are consumed by the trout eating the flies. With the cost of established fish food components reaching $1,400 a ton, buying less expensive fly fish food from dairy producers could be a plus for both industries. Rounding up those flies for shipment might be a little interesting. I'm Jeff Keane. Western Farmer-Stockman November 2007